SQUASH AND GOURD BEES (<i>PEPONAPIS, XENOGLOSSA</i>
) AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CULTIVATED <i>CUCURBITA</i>

Hurd, Paul D.; Linsley, E Gorton; Whitaker, Thomas W.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1971.tb01874.x

Cited by 83 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Peponapis bees are fully dependent on the resources provided by flowers of the genus Cucurbita for nutrition of both larvae and adults (Hurd et al. , Delgado‐Carrillo et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The genus Cucurbita is a group of monoecious, self‐compatible plants, pollinated mainly by bees, and cultivated worldwide (Hurd et al. , Lira‐Saade ). There are about 27 species, of which five species have been domesticated: C. pepo , C. ficifolia , C. moschata , C. maxima, and C. argyrosperma (Whitaker , Lira‐Saade ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bees of the genus Peponapis have been documented as the main pollinators of Cucurbita (Hurd et al. , , Tepedino , Canto‐Aguilar and Parra‐Tabla ), although some studies report other bee genera as frequent floral visitors (Artz et al. , Enríquez et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal variation in pollination services to Cucurbita moschata is determined by bee gender and diversity

et al. 2018

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It has been proposed that species‐rich insect communities and species turnover across landscapes enhance the pollination efficiency of crops through complementarity, where both the dominant and less abundant species contribute to reaching a yield threshold from pollination. Alternatively, fluctuations in the most abundant pollinator species, rather than changes in species richness, may drive temporal variation in pollination services. In this study, we used Cucurbita moschata as a model to investigate temporal variation in pollinator communities in a Mexican tropical dry forest region. We sampled floral visitors in the coastal region of Jalisco during the wet and dry seasons and determined the pollination efficiency of all floral visitors. Our results showed that there was temporal variation in the pollinator community and in the pollination efficiency of the main pollinators of Cucurbita moschata crops. In the wet season, native bees of the genus Peponapis were the most frequent and effective pollinators of C. moschata, whereas in the dry season, Peponapis bees were scarce and Apis mellifera became the most frequent floral visitor. Apis mellifera transfers smaller pollen loads than Peponapis, but it provides an effective pollination service in conjunction with other native bees during the dry season. There was also an interaction between flower gender and pollinator species, where A. mellifera had higher visitation rate to female C. moschata flowers, and Peponapis bees to staminate flowers. Mean visitation rate by Peponapis female bees was 17 times higher than visitation rate by male bees. This is the first report of a vis‐à‐vis relationship of pollinator gender with respect to plant gender in which plants of the genus Cucurbita that produce unisexual staminate and pistillate flowers are differentially visited by Peponapis male and female bees, where females are the main pollinators. Understanding the temporal variation in pollinator communities and the contribution of the different species of pollinators to the reproductive success of different crop species and varieties can be crucial to maintaining pollination services under the current global pollination crisis.

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“…Peponapis bees are fully dependent on the resources provided by flowers of the genus Cucurbita for nutrition of both larvae and adults (Hurd et al. , Delgado‐Carrillo et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal variation in pollination services to Cucurbita moschata is determined by bee gender and diversity

et al. 2018

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“…texana (Texas gourd hereafter), an annual monoecious vine native to Texas, USA and Mexico, is closely related to the domesticated C. pepo. The specialist squash bee, Peponapsis pruinosa (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Hurd et al 1971) has a range that extends throughout Massachusetts and south and west to Texas and beyond. Species in the genus Cucurbita are attacked at all stages of development by diabroticite beetles (squash and cucumber beetles; Metcalf and Metcalf 1992).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advertising to the enemy: enhanced floral fragrance increases beetle attraction and reduces plant reproduction

Theis

Adler

2012

Ecology

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Many organisms face challenges in avoiding predation while searching for mates. For plants, emitting floral fragrances to advertise reproductive structures could increase the attraction of detrimental insects along with pollinators. Very few studies have experimentally evaluated the costs and benefits of fragrance emission with explicit consideration of how plant fitness is affected by both pollinators and florivores. To determine the reproductive consequences of increasing the apparency of reproductive parts, we manipulated fragrance, pollination, and florivores in the wild Texas gourd, Cucurbita pepo var. texana. With enhanced fragrance we found an increase in the attraction of florivores, rather than pollinators, and a decrease in seed production. This study is the first to demonstrate that enhanced floral fragrance can increase the attraction of detrimental florivores and decrease plant reproduction, suggesting that florivory as well as pollination has shaped the evolution of floral scent.

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“…The bees switch only to those flowers they sample which contain sufficient food. Oligolecty (Linsley 1958, Hurd and Linsley 1967, Hurd et al 1971, Cruden 1972) generally implies relatively inflexible behavior, but it also implies that the bees find and manipulate their host flowers without the time-consuming trial and error required during learning. DISCUSSION Bees, with their obligate dependence on flowers, have evolved numerous patterns of harvesting nectar and pollen and converting these foods to offspring.…”

Section: Specialists Vs Nonspecialistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Foraging Specializations of Individual Bumblebees

Heinrich¹

1976

Ecological Monographs

557

365

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Bumblebees of any one species in Maine forage for pollen and/or nectar from a large variety of morphologically diverse flowers, but individuals have limited foraging repertoires at any one time. Unspecialized individuals were sometimes unsuccessful in extracting nectar and/or pollen from highly rewarding flowers.In any one area with a variety of concurrently blooming plants, the bumblebees had apparent species preferences. Superimposed on the species preferences were individual preferences. Individuals had primary foraging specialties (their majors) and secondary specialities (their minors). Minors were often bridges to new majors. Queens in Maine necessarily have several successive majors during their lifetime since the blooming time of the plants they utilize are brief relative to their life-span as foragers. However, the blooming time of most plants available to Bombus fervidus workers are long relative to their lifetime. Switching was rarely observed in these bees, even in some individuals observed daily for up to 1 mo at the same foraging area containing other plant species in bloom that were highly attractive to other individuals of the same bumblebee species.On a per flower basis, those flowers producing the most food rewards generally had the largest number of bees majoring from them, and the food rewards available were roughly comparable between different kinds of flowers, regardless of their differences in rates of nectar production.Specializing was usually preceded by sampling a variety of rewarding as well as nonrewarding flowers. When the flowers from which bees were majoring in an area were experimentally removed many of the bees sampled flowers of other concurrently blooming plants, but they generally did not switch to flowers from which the food rewards were being depleted by specialists, unless these were experimentally fortified with syrup. Upon finding superior food rewards in enriched blossoms, they switched immediately.Flower-specificity is related to site-specificity. Many bees shared the same foraging area, but different individual bees at the same site utilized the flowers of different plant species. When the foraging area contained landmarks, the bees visited clumps of flowers in a sequence (foraging path) that was generally repeated several times on the same foraging trip when the foraging site was small.The foraging behavior of bumblebees is discussed from a comparative standpoint with other bees and in relation to food distribution and availability in the environment.

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SQUASH AND GOURD BEES (PEPONAPIS, XENOGLOSSA ) AND THE ORIGIN OF THE CULTIVATED CUCURBITA

Cited by 83 publications

References 13 publications

Temporal variation in pollination services to Cucurbita moschata is determined by bee gender and diversity

Temporal variation in pollination services to Cucurbita moschata is determined by bee gender and diversity

Advertising to the enemy: enhanced floral fragrance increases beetle attraction and reduces plant reproduction

The Foraging Specializations of Individual Bumblebees

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